Veterinář viděl několik psů.

Because veterinář is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

• veterinář = veterinarian / vet
• In this sentence, the vet is the one doing the action of seeing.

So:

• Veterinář = nominative singular, subject
• viděl = saw
• několik psů = several dogs

Viděl is the past tense form of vidět (to see).

More specifically:

• vidět = infinitive, to see
• viděl = he saw

This form tells you two things:

1. It is past tense
2. The subject is masculine singular

So with veterinář (a male vet), Czech uses viděl.

Compare:

• Veterinář viděl... = The male vet saw...
• Veterinářka viděla... = The female vet saw...

Czech does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So Veterinář can mean:

• a veterinarian
• the veterinarian

and the exact meaning depends on context.

The same is true for psů:

• dogs
• the dogs
• sometimes even some dogs, depending on context

English needs articles, but Czech usually does not.

Because několik (several, a few) normally requires the following noun to be in the genitive plural.

So:

• několik
  • genitive plural
• pes = dog
• psů = of dogs / genitive plural form

That is why Czech says:

• několik psů = several dogs

This is a very common pattern in Czech, also with words like:

• hodně lidí = many people
• málo času = little time
• pár dní = a couple of days

So the important rule is:

• after několik, use genitive plural

Psů is genitive plural.

The reason is not that it is a normal direct object by itself, but that it follows the quantifier několik. The word několik governs the genitive plural.

Base noun:

• pes = dog

Some forms of pes:

• pes = nominative singular
• psa = accusative singular
• psi = nominative plural
• psů = genitive plural

So in this sentence:

• několik psů = literally something like several of dogs, though in natural English we just say several dogs

It usually means several or a few, but not an exact number.

It suggests:

• more than two
• an unspecified small-to-moderate number

In many contexts, several is the best English translation. In others, a few also works.

So několik psů could be understood as:

• several dogs
• a few dogs

The exact number is not important; the speaker is just saying it was more than one, and not a huge quantity.

The word order can change, because Czech word order is more flexible than English word order.

The basic neutral order here is:

• Veterinář viděl několik psů.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Několik psů viděl veterinář.
• Viděl veterinář několik psů? (in a question-like context, though Czech usually does not need inversion the way English does)

Changing the order usually changes emphasis, not the core meaning.

For example:

• Veterinář viděl několik psů. = neutral
• Několik psů viděl veterinář. = emphasis on several dogs

So yes, the order can change, but the original sentence is the most neutral and natural starting point for learners.

In Czech past tense, the verb is formed with an -l participle plus forms of být (to be) in some persons.

But in the 3rd person, Czech normally uses just the -l form by itself.

So:

• viděl jsem = I saw
• viděl jsi = you saw
• viděl = he saw
• viděla = she saw
• viděli = they saw (masculine animate or mixed)
• viděly = they saw (non-masculine animate)

That means viděl by itself is a complete and normal form for he saw.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Czech.

• vidět = imperfective
• uvidět = perfective

In many simple past statements, Czech often uses the imperfective verb when just stating that someone saw something:

• Veterinář viděl několik psů. = The vet saw several dogs.

If you said uviděl, it would sound more like:

• caught sight of
• noticed
• suddenly saw

So the difference is roughly:

• viděl = neutral saw
• uviděl = saw / noticed at a particular moment

Both can be possible in the right context, but viděl is the more neutral choice here.

Then both the noun and the verb would usually change:

• Veterinářka viděla několik psů.

Changes:

• veterinář → veterinářka = female veterinarian
• viděl → viděla = feminine singular past tense

So Czech often shows gender more clearly than English does.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Veterinář ≈ veh-teh-ri-naarzh
• viděl ≈ vi-dyel
• několik ≈ nye-ko-lik
• psů ≈ psoo

A few key points:

• ř is a famous Czech sound. It is hard for English speakers. It is something like a rolled or fricative r mixed with a zh sound.
• ě often changes the pronunciation of the consonant before it, so dě in viděl sounds roughly like dye.
• ů is a long u sound, so psů has a long vowel.

You do not need perfect pronunciation immediately, but it helps to recognize that the accents are meaningful and should not be ignored.